Howl
by vocay
Summary: Twilight from Jacob's point of view with a little side romance between him and Paul. Almost completely compatible with canon until later chapters. Jacob/Paul Slash.
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this like 3 years ago, thought I should post it. Inspired by "Pake Drabbles" by lacrymosa-91. Please review if you want me to post more chapters.**

Jacob/Paul Slash

Howl

Chapter 1

"…This project is going to be your quarter final. It's twenty percent of your grade, so please try to put some effort into it…"

Jacob was staring out the window daydreaming, only half-paying attention to his biology teacher. This was his last class and his attention quota had been all-but-used-up for the day. From what Jacob _did_ catch, he learned that his teacher was assigning the class a final project for the quarter and it was a big deal in the grade book. Jacob didn't really care, he was impatiently waiting for the bell to ring so he could hit the garage and work on the Rabbit with his friends Quil and Embry.

"…Because the project is so important you will get to work on it with a partner. And by the way, this project is _home_work, not _class _work, so you're going to have to do the work outside of school…"

Jacob looked up and locked eyes with Embry sitting across from him. He nodded between them, silently asking, _Partners?_ Embry flashed him a smile to confirm. Every time they had to work in groups, Jacob and Embry paired up. The rest of the students in CP Biology 10 were jocks, ditzes, and junior oafs who had failed biology last year. In a class with so much diversity, Jacob and Embry stuck together as much as possible. So when Jacob heard the next thing that the teacher said, he was less than thrilled.

"…And remember, I will be assigning you partners this time so don't expect to work with your best friend like always…"

Ugh. There was no way the teacher would partner him and Embry, he would have to suck it up and work with someone new. Embry shrugged at him in disappointment. As Jacob waited for names to be called, his eyes swept the room trying to decide who the worst partner would be. Asher? The football player was pretty stupid, but he could follow directions. Nah, he was ok. Maybe Kim…not the brightest of girls, but at least she was nice. The teacher started listing off the partners and Jacob anxiously awaited his name.

"…Embry and Jessica…"

Jacob smirked at Embry. Jessica was Embry's recent ex-girlfriend. That would be really awkward. Jacob's name wasn't called until the very end and he looked over at Embry with horror when he realized by elimination who his partner was.

"…And finally, Paul and Jacob…"

Now it was Embry's turn to smirk at Jacob. Paul was definitely the worst partner possible. He and Jared were the two junior oafs who had to retake biology and Jared was all right, but Paul was just an asshole; an asshole with a bad temper. And only to make matters worse, he was huge! He had almost a foot on Jacob in height, and his rippling muscles made Jacob look like a beanpole. Not to mention he was probably the dumbest kid in the class; Jacob would be stuck doing all the work. This was going to be a rather unpleasant partnership.

"…Take the last couple minutes of class to start planning your project with your partners…"

Jacob caught Paul glancing at him with an uncaring look. Then Paul hauled himself up and hulked over to him. He frowned and slapped his palms onto Jacob's desk, leaning forward into his personal space.

Paul looked at him expectantly. He stared back, unable to speak while being held under such a calculating glare. "The floor is yours, partner." Paul said the word "partner" with sharp disdain.

Jacob took the initiative, "Let's just get this thing over with as quickly as possible. We can meet at my place tomorrow after school. Sound good?"

Paul grunted out a "yes" and that was the end of the conversation. So far, so good. He pushed off the desk and went to return to his seat, but then he pivoted back to face Jacob. "I don't know where you live."

"Too bad we can't keep it that way," Jacob muttered under his breath. The right side of Paul's mouth tugged up in a smile. _Shit, did I just say that out loud?_ Jacob shook it off and raised his eyebrow in a questioning glance.

"Just write down your address for me."

Jacob rushed to get out a pen and paper. He scribbled his address in barely legible handwriting and slid the paper to the edge of the desk. Paul carefully picked it up, glanced at it and stuffed it in his back pocket. He tipped his head, "Until tomorrow."

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing_

Saved by the bell. Jacob thrust the pen into his bag, jumped from his seat and was out the door in seconds. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Paul's gaze following him.

The next day Jacob woke up with a worried feeling, like he usually did when he was dreading something. As he had said yesterday, he was hoping to finish the project as quickly as possible, so if he just survived a few hours with Paul this whole ordeal would be behind him. It wouldn't be _that_ bad, right?

While he sat in homeroom, he pondered his interaction with Paul the previous day. Paul's voice had the qualities of coffee: it was dark, rich and smooth. And just like coffee, his presence woke Jacob up. His tone and glare were constant reminders of how belligerent he was. He seemed to take pleasure in patronizing underclassmen. The way he had smiled mischievously yesterday gave it away.

The rest of the school day was soothing. Jacob was able to busy his mind with more trivial thoughts and forget about the bigger problems. He was a master at projecting happiness even when he himself didn't feel so happy. Just appearing to be content made him feel better. Until biology, that is. He sat down at his usual seat across from Embry. Then he caught sight of Paul and all of his anxiety came rushing back.

He started to fidget with his hands, twirling his hair around his fingers and playing with the hem of his shirt. All the while, his vision stayed fixed in front of him. Paul stretched, outlining the muscles protruding from his back, and then turned around. His eyes immediately caught Jacob's. They were deep pools of brown, a deceptively warm color, because the expression behind them was cold and mysterious. Jacob broke the connection by looking down.

Embry took his seat and started talking to him, "Man, I can't believe I'm stuck with Jessica for the project. It's like Mr. Stuart is out to get me or something."

"Want to switch? I'm sure Paul would love a new partner, have you seen the way he looks at me?"

"I wish." He laughed, "I guess you've got it bad too. Oh, are we working on the Rabbit today? I found a couple of the parts we need at the dump yesterday and—"

"—actually, we can't. I'm supposed to work on the project with Paul today…" Jacob cringed at his own words.

Embry was surprised, "Jake, it was assigned yesterday and it's not due for like a month. How can you already be working on it?"

"I figured that if I have to work with Paul, I might as well get it over with fast. You know? Rip off the band-aid. The sooner, the better."

"I guess that works _in theory_," Embry allowed, "but if _I_ were you, I'd push it off until the last second."

"Well, I already made the plans, so _in theory_…I'm screwed." He shrugged.

"That sucks. I guess we can do the Rabbit tomorrow, if you're still alive. Who knows what'll happen when Paul's done with you," Embry grinned jokingly.

Then class began and they had to stop talking. That had not helped Jacob feel any better about his upcoming meeting. He spent the rest of the class doodling resignedly.

_Knock Knock_

Jacob had all the materials for the project spread out in front of him: laptop, textbook, notebook, pencil and paper. He was determined to eliminate all the funny business and get right down to work. That way, they would be so engrossed in the project that Paul would forget about clobbering him.

He pushed out of his chair and sulked over to the door to open it. There towered Paul, with one hand scratching behind his head and an unsure scowl on his face.

"Um…Hi, we're doing the project today, right?"

"Yeah, come on in," Jacob replied with minimum enthusiasm.

He led Paul the three steps from his front door to the tiny kitchen table. He couldn't help but smirk as Paul tried to squish himself into the small chair between the wall and the table.

When he was finally situated, Paul mumbled, "Nice place you got here."

Jacob was sure he was being sarcastic, but even so, he responded with a weak "thanks."

Paul bent over to get his stuff out of his backpack, which he had just placed on the floor. Jacob watched him carefully. He told himself that he was making sure Paul didn't pull out a gun, or something. As he rummaged through his bag, Jacob noticed how his shirt rode up and exposed a swath of copper skin. He hated to admit it, but he envied Paul's immaculate physique.

Paul scowled, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, sorry."

This was going to be a very long afternoon.

Paul was quiet while Jacob explained to him what they were going to do for the project. His expression was indifferent and tired, but nonetheless, he appeared to understand what was going on. Jacob bounced some ideas off him and his responses indicated that he knew what he was talking about. Jacob was surprised; Paul wasn't as stupid as he thought.

In a moment of impulse, he expressed his curiosity. "You seem to know all of this already. I thought you wouldn't understand anything because you never pay attention in class." He realized how very stupid it was to insult someone twice his size only after he made the comment.

Paul's jaw locked, "How would _you_ know that I don't pay attention?"

Jacob stuttered incoherently.

"You obviously don't pay attention either, if you spend the whole class watching me." His tone was bitter but not aggressive, like Jacob wasn't even worth his time. "And _you_ seem to know everything just fine. So what makes you think that _I'm_ too stupid to get it?"

"I never said that."

He let out an arrogant laugh, "Oh, really? So I'm supposed to believe that there wasn't any subtext to what you said? Thanks for judging me."

Jacob was indignant; he hadn't meant any offense. He felt like they were verbally fencing, and he was losing. Badly. He fought back. "Well sorry if it's news to you, but you have a reputation. I'm sure anyone at the school would judge you the same way." _Touché_.

"Not many people at school have even bothered getting to know me."

"Maybe that's because you scare them off too quickly."

Paul frowned. "Listen, Kid, we don't have time for this. Let's get back to the project."

Jacob desperately wanted to say "you started it," but he didn't want to sound immature right after he was called a "kid." Paul was right. They needed to get some work done. "So which topic should we do? The plant life cycle or the food web?" He looked expectantly at Paul.

After a few seconds of silence, Paul glared menacingly back at him. "Why are you staring at me? I'm not going to pick the topic. That's your job. Just choose the easiest one."

"Ok," he blew out of his nose. "Plant life cycle it is."

They drew up an outline for the paper. Jacob always created blueprints before he started writing to guide him in the right direction. Paul gladly allowed Jacob to do all of the work. He threw in suggestions here and there, but he was curt and snappy, telltale warnings that he was short on temper. Jacob didn't push him anymore past his limit. He was trying to avoid physical blows at all cost.

When they had finished preparing, he began to divvy up the work between the two of them. "…I'll research the fern and angiosperm life cycles and you can research the moss life cycle." He thought he was being rather equitable with the divvying: only one thing for Paul to do, and two for himself. But Paul disagreed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. I've got a much better idea." He reached out and spun the laptop to face him. "Since I am currently too tired to think, you can dictate while I type."

"What is that supposed to mean? 'I am currently too tired to think'," he mimicked in a slurred voice.

Paul gave him a fierce look that clearly said _one more word and you'll regret it_. "Just be happy I'm cooperating at all. Besides, I can type faster than you." Jacob was a fairly speedy typist, but Paul spoke with such confidence that he was afraid to challenge him. He gave in to Paul's demands without making any more of a fuss.

Time slipped by faster once they established a rhythm. Jacob flipped through the textbook and notebook, cuing Paul along the way. He really _could_ type quickly. His fingers flew over the keys fluidly, almost hypnotically. Jacob was grateful; the distraction of typing kept Paul's hostility at bay. They worked efficiently, much more so than Jacob would have guessed.

After three hours had gone by, Paul stood up with his bag and announced that he had to leave. Jacob lifted his chin to make eye contact. "So I think we need another few sessions to finish this, when can we meet again?"

"How about tomorrow after school?"

"Sure, sure. We'll meet here again?"

Paul nodded.

Jacob had an afterthought, and he quickly added on, "Oh, will you find some articles about the three different life cycles for—"

"No." Cold, hard interruption. "Here's how things are going to work, Kid. I am not going to do anything outside of our little meetings. If you want something to get done, you're going to have to do it yourself."

Exactly as Jacob had predicted, he would have to do all the work. Resistance seemed futile. But it was worth a try, wasn't it? "You didn't do any work in our little meeting today, so how do I know you won't check out next meeting?"

"You don't," he said simply.

Jacob's temper was rising. It irritated him how Paul just brushed everything off so loosely. His eyebrows conglomerated in frustration.

"I really bother you, don't I?" He half smiled. That ticked Jacob off.

"Goodbye, Paul."

"Bye, Kid."

"Don't call me th—" but he was already gone.

Later that night, after he finished his homework, Jacob walked over to Embry's place to hang out. The Call family, consisting of Embry and his mom, lived in a house that was very similar to Jacob's own residence. There were two small bedrooms that shared an overcrowded bathroom, a den and something of a kitchen-eatery-hybrid. The flimsy walls had peeling blue paint and they held up a roof with missing shingles. In an attempt to remedy the depressing state of the rest of the house, flower boxes brimming with colorful arrangements had been placed underneath all the windows.

Jacob didn't mind the minimalist architecture on the reservation. He was used to it. He had lived here his whole life. The one thing that mattered was that Embry had a bomber, forty-six-inch TV, ideal for gaming and movie watching. He couldn't wait to get his hands on an Xbox controller and start blasting all his worries away.

Embry opened the door for him. "Hey, Jake. Come on in."

He looked around. The TV was buzzing in the next room. Embry held an oversize bag of potato chips in one hand, and the remote control in the other. "Where's Quil? I thought he'd be leeching off of you."

"Nah, Quil's grounded. Something about staying out too late. So what should we do? It's too dark to work in the garage, otherwise we could start on those dirt bikes I found."

"Bring on the Xbox!"

"Oh, yeah!" Embry spoke around a mouthful of chips. "Do you want to play the new Mortal Kombat?"

"You got it?!"

"Yeah, just yesterday."

"What are we waiting for?"

They delved into the game for the next couple of hours. Brutal violence had a way of just clearing Jacob's mind. Kind of like a good work out. Except he was probably frying brain cells instead of generating endorphins. But hey, at least his fingers were getting some exercise.

After hours on end of digitized, bloody slaughtering, Jacob could no longer move his thumbs and his eyes ached from staring at the TV screen for so long. By then, it was already three in the morning. Jacob was much too exhausted to make the walk back to his house so Embry let him stay the night. He crashed on the floor of Embry's room with a pillow and a blanket. In the darkness, before they fell asleep, they rated all the girls at school on a scale of one to ten. Sometimes Jacob found it amusing how he and his friends spent so much time talking about chicks, but none of them had even hit a "home run" yet. It was all part of the bravado mask they upheld. With this thought burning in the fire pit, his mental hearth flickered and fizzled until it was stoked by unconsciousness.

Jacob slumped over and pressed his cheek against the cold surface of the lab table in a failed attempt to wake himself up for biology. _Only one more class until the end of school_. He yawned and looked across the table. Embry's eyelids were drooping, too. They had stayed up way too late last night. This morning Jacob had been jolted from his slumber by Embry's alarm clock. At first, he had no idea where he was, but then realization had dawned on him. He had scrambled to get ready while he was only half-conscious. Then he had to race back to his own house to pick up his backpack. It was a chaotic morning to say the least.

A glance at the clock and a quick calculation told him how long the class would be. Right after school, he planned to go home and nap. If he could even make it home. As he returned his gaze to the front of the room, he saw Paul stepping in. Suddenly, he remembered something. Yesterday, he and Paul had agreed to meet again today after school. Shit! He groaned aloud. There went his nap. On second thought, he was in no state to work right now. He would be falling asleep the entire time. He decided that the science project would just have to wait until tomorrow.

He rose and dragged himself over to where Paul sat, and tapped him on the shoulder. Paul turned around and looked Jacob over as if he was puzzled by his presence. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed…or never _went_ to bed."

"Ha ha," Jacob answered sarcastically. He must have noticed the dark circles under the eyes and the slouched posture. "Listen, I can't meet today. I'm too tired to do anything."

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you went out and partied all night."

He rolled his eyes. "I was not 'partying' all night. And besides, what do you care? We can just reschedule for tomorrow."

"Nope." He popped the 'p' at the end of the word. "You made a commitment to me and you can't go back on it now. I'll show up at your place today whether you like it or not. Don't try to sleep through the meeting. I have ways to keep you awake." He paused and then added on, "And _besides_, we can't reschedule for tomorrow because I already have plans."

He scowled. "Last time, _you_ said that you were too tired to think," Paul shrugged in response. "God, you're such a jerk."

"What? You don't want to see me?" He said in a plastic voice of hurt.

Jacob ignored him. "I really need some sleep. Even if we _did_ meet today, I would be no help to you. I can't focus on anything."

Paul appraised him for a minute and then his mouth pulled up in a slight smile. "How about you go home and nap, and then I'll show up later—around seven—to work on the project? Does that give you enough time for some beauty rest?"

He grumbled. Jacob hated acquiescing to Paul, but it was actually a fair plan. He nodded in agreement before turning to go back to his seat.

"See you later," Paul said over his shoulder.

After school, Jacob walked home and fell onto his bed. He slept for a good three hours. The sound of his father, Billy, unlocking the front door woke him at six twenty. The door to his room creaked open and Billy poked his head in.

"What are you doing in bed, Jacob?"

He sat up. "I was just really tired so I took a nap."

"Didn't get enough sleep at Embry's house last night?"

"Yup."

"Well it's time to get up. I need you to drive me over to Charlie's place."

Jacob's father was in a wheelchair. His legs were paralyzed after a tragic car accident, the same accident that killed his mother. One of the many consequences of this calamity was that Billy could no longer drive. A good family friend, Harry Clearwater, chauffeured Billy around while Jacob was in school, but on afternoons and weekends, Jacob was in charge of cab duty.

He looked over at the clock and determined that he would have enough time to return before Paul arrived. "Ok, dad, but we need to leave soon. I've got to work on a science project at seven."

Jacob got back home after dropping Billy off and parked the car out front. He went inside to get out his science things when a knock sounded at the door. He found Paul leaning coolly against the entryway with an aloof expression on his face.

"How was your nap, Sleeping Beauty?"

He crossed his arms in front of him and narrowed his eyes. "I dreamed that you died." _Wow, I really couldn't think of a better comeback?_

Despite the humorlessness of Jacob's tone, Paul smirked. They stood silently opposite each other for a beat too long. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"I'm having second thoughts."

Paul looked annoyed. He pushed past Jacob and waltzed into the kitchen to take the same seat as last time.

"You can't just barge into other people's houses, you know." He shut the door and took the seat opposite Paul. "I'm not sure where you learned how to behave, but here in the civilized world we have manners."

They fell into the same pattern as yesterday. Paul gladly accepted Jacob's blunt challenge to a sparring match. "Manners? wow. What school did you go to before the rez high school? Precocious Girls Prep?"

Jacob snorted. Paul went on, "Anyway, I'm just living up to your expectations. Remember? I have 'quite the reputation' at school: aggressive, brainless bad boy. Didn't want to let you down."

Paul was poking fun at him. He wouldn't have it. "Oh trust me, your reputation is far worse than that. I've heard that you're a bully, that you start fights—but wait, you already know that. You're the one who spreads the rumors in the first place. You're actually proud of being so messed up."

The sarcasm vanished from his face. "You think _I_ spread those stories?"

"Even if you don't, you still enjoy all the attention you get."

Paul tipped back his chair and folded his hands behind his head. "Well I can't deny that."

"See!" Jacob pointed at him. "You're so stuck up that you don't care what people think as long as you're in the spotlight. In fact, the whole bad boy act is just _that_—an act—isn't it? You're probably a completely different person on the inside and you just don't want to show yourself because you're afraid that you'll lose everyone."

Paul gave him an 'I think you've gone crazy' look. "Calm down, Kid. Don't go all psychologist on me."

"Humph." Now he was in a bad mood. He didn't want to work on the project anymore. No, that wasn't it. He just didn't want Paul as his partner anymore. Tomorrow, he would go straight to Mr. Stuart and demand a new partner.

Paul sensed his resignation. He sat up and leaned forward over the table. "We're probably just hungry," he admitted. "Let's eat something and then try again."

As always, Paul had the sensible solution. Jacob frowned and reluctantly complied with him. "Fine, but you're doing the cooking."

He raised his hands in defense. "I would, but I've never set foot in the kitchen in my life."

Jacob gave him a dark look and sighed in defeat. "I can't believe I'm doing this. You owe me."

Even though Paul was useless for the cooking, Jacob put him to work getting out ingredients and plates. He kept the menu simple: pasta with tomato sauce. The food was ready within the hour. Jacob plated the pasta, poured the sauce and slid a dish to Paul. After they were done eating, he put the dishes in the sink.

"Thanks for dinner," Paul placed his hand on his stomach to indicate that the food was good.

"Sure, sure."

"You are a natural in the kitchen, I might add. Just like the perfect housewife."

Jacob couldn't help letting a smile slip by. The food really had put him in a better mood. "Ok," he took out his laptop. "We've wasted enough time, let's do something productive."

"I find eating to be very productive."

"Paul."

"Jacob."

He drilled Paul with a look that said 'enough.' It was strange, but he felt a lot like a parent reprimanding its child. "Get out your stuff. Let's make the most of the time we have left."

"I guess you forgot," Paul sighed. "You talk, I type."

"That's not going to work today. We actually have to do some research online."

"It's not up for negotiation. You talk, I type. End of story. Kid, I don't think you get it. I'm not going to do anything that takes mental capacity. The project's on you."

This upset him. Jacob thought that he and Paul were finally on the track to working together, but, apparently, he was wrong. Paul was as selfish as always.

He lowered his voice. "You're living up to your reputation right now."

Paul tensed and sat forward in his chair, but Jacob wasn't surprised. He had made the comment because he knew it would provoke a response. "Well don't take it personally. I would have done this to any underclassman that got paired with me."

They had an intense stare-off. Jacob broke eye contact first. "Originally I thought you wouldn't help with the project because you were so dimwitted. But that's clearly not the case. You're actually smart. So why do you refuse to work? It's not like you think it's a waste of time; you're here with me right now when you could be out doing anything else. So what is it?" He wasn't really expecting an answer. He just wanted to see how Paul would react to the question.

Paul kept on staring at him, but his eyes were glazed over. Physically he was there, but mentally he was somewhere else. A while passed and then he spoke softly, "You're a strange one, Black."

The meeting had gone according to Jacob's expectations. After they had finished bickering—and Jacob finally gave in to Paul—they had set to work, him dictating and Paul typing. They had arranged to meet again on Friday. Like the first time, Paul was just as cruel and confrontational as he anticipated. But there was something else present there. As much as Paul irritated him on the surface, underneath, Jacob was drawn to the conflict. He enjoyed the fighting. And he could tell that Paul did too. They clashed for sport if nothing else. It was merely a game to them. He turned this over in his head on the way to school the next morning. He realized that he was anxious for the next meeting. In a good way.

Quil greeted him at his locker. "I heard you got stuck with Lahote for the science project. That blows, man. I feel for you."

"Embry told you?" He nodded. "Yeah it's a pain in the ass. Paul refuses to do anything. And it's not like I can finish it all by myself. It's a huge paper to write and it decides our grade in the class."

"You should just follow in my footsteps and drop out of bio. Trust me. Physics is a hundred times easier."

Jacob took a moment to pretend to think it over. "Hmmm…Nope. I don't think so. Unlike you, I actually set goals for myself."

Quil patted him on the back. "Well, you just tell me and Embry if he gets on your nerves. The three of us can take him. You'll fake left to distract him, Embry can weaken him and I'll deliver the final blow."

"It's a nice plan, but you're forgetting something. Paul has friends too." Jacob's thoughts wandered to the other juniors who were always hanging out with Paul. Two of them were almost as big and scary-looking as Paul was.

"Who? Dan and Caleb and those guys? They're all wimps," Quil scoffed. "We don't have to worry about them."

Jacob looked at him pointedly. "I'd love to stand here and listen to your amazing ambush plans all day, but I've got places to go."

"If you're sure. But I'm telling you, this is the way to take over the school. We'll scare everyone into submission. We could be the social dictators, plunder all the women and the gold!"

He snorted and shouted behind him, "Dream on, Quil."

Friday afternoon arrived quickly. When Jacob got home from school, he did some research and printed out a few articles he would need as reference. By now, he had given up on trying to convince Paul to do any research. He would take what he could get and if all Paul was willing to do was type, then so be it.

A familiar knock floated in from the front. "Door's open," Jacob hollered.

Paul entered with slow strides. He eyed Jacob uncertainly, but there was a hint of humor playing behind his irises. "What happened to the whole high security guard dog show you put on the other day? You didn't even check through the peephole to see who it was. What if it was a serial killer?" His tone was concentrated mockery.

Jacob smiled at him sardonically. "You are _sooo_ funny."

"I'm glad you think so."

He opened his mouth to make a snide retort, but decided against it. Instead, he chose to focus on the task at hand. "So I did the research that _you_ were supposed to do and printed out some articles about the different life cycles. I think we've got enough material to write the 'Experimental' section of the paper now."

Paul set his bag down and dropped into the chair. He stretched momentarily, lifting his arms above his head and arching his back. His shirt was small so it lifted a little and pulled taut, making his abs of steel and the hair traveling down from his belly button visible for a second. Jacob swiftly averted his gaze and busied himself with taking out the textbook.

"You're going to type again, right?"

Paul clapped his hands together, "Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! You are finally learning. I was wondering when you were going to catch on."

"Oh, trust me. I'm still waiting for _you_ to catch on." Jacob spoke more to himself than to Paul.

"Catch on to what? Last time I checked, you were the one who missed the train."

Jacob kept his eyes on his papers. "You're living in the moment, but I'm thinking about my future. It's all about a difference in perspective." He spoke in a purposefully haughty tone in an attempt to demean Paul. "By doing all of the work, I am learning and broadening my horizons. I am giving myself the tools to succeed. You think you're so smart, coercing me into doing all of the work for you, but really, you're on the losing end of the stick. And anyways, we're pretty much expending the same amount of energy except mine is in brain power and yours is in finger power." He made some stupid little spirit finger gesture at the end of the speech.

Paul chuckled. "Is this some sort of reverse psychology ruse to get me to put in effort? Because, I hate to break it to you, but, it's not working."

"Oh no, I'm totally serious."

"Really…" Paul rested his cheek on his fist. "You know, for a second there I thought you were heading down _my_ alley, turning into one of those bad boy, black soul types. I mean, just the other day you were looking at me with unmistakable jealousy."

"Are you kidding?"

"No, but I guess I was wrong. You're a goody two shoes and that's never going to change."

Jacob looked up. "That sounds awfully judgmental coming from someone who complains about a notorious school reputation."

"But you _want_ to be a goody two shoes." Paul looked doubtfully back at him.

Jacob returned his gaze to the papers in front of him. "I know. I was just saying that it's judgmental."

Silence hung between them. Then Paul leaned forward. "I know you claim not to want to change, but just in case you change your mind, don't. I like you better this way."

Jacob wasn't sure how to interpret that, so he did his best to ignore it. Instead of responding, he pushed the laptop toward Paul's side of the table. "Let's start typing."

Three hours later, they had finished writing the "Experimental" section. Jacob skimmed through the paper and made sure everything was ok. He gave it the thumbs up. Paul started to pack his things.

"We made a lot of good progress today. At this rate, we'll be finished by next week," Jacob predicted.

"Super." He was unenthusiastic.

"Oh, come on, Paul. You aren't a little excited to be finished weeks before everyone else in the class? You can brag in all of their faces about how _cool_ you are."

"Kid, I never talk to anyone in that class."

He scowled at Paul. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

Paul eyed him and a slow smile crept onto his face. "I believe you've earned the title. I mean, you're younger than I am, shorter than I am, scrawnier than I am. You've still got those boyish features in your face. I think we've established whose boss in this team; that would be me. And then, I'm just generally more mature than you are. I'd bet you've never had sex before." Jacob felt his cheeks warm up. "And hopefully you've never experimented with hard drugs before. Hell, you've probably never even been more than buzzed off alcohol. I can tell by your body language that I'm right." Jacob suddenly became very self-conscious. He sat up ramrod straight and put his hands, which had been fidgeting, in his pockets. "There," Paul concluded, "I think I've made my point."

Jacob realized, too late, that he had been adjusting his posture in response to Paul's words. He stood up, infuriated. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that he shouldn't be so worked up over something Paul Lahote had said about him. He took daily verbal abuse from the guy, so this shouldn't have been any different. But the way Paul's voice stabbed and the way his eyes twinkled had set Jacob off and now there was no turning back.

"Oh, and you think you're so cool for doing all of those things?"

"It's not that I think I'm cool, I'm just defending my right to call you 'Kid.'"

"Either way, you obviously think there's some merit to the experiences you listed. Maybe you don't think it's coolness, but you assume it gives you some kind of maturity level. Well, newsflash, it _doesn't_. You're just too proud of your bad-boy-ness to notice."

Paul laughed. It was a foreign noise when juxtaposed with Jacob's heated anger. "Black, I may portray a gangster persona to the world, but I'm not evil to the core. You act like I don't have a heart."

"You're right. I _don't_ think you have a heart."

"I do."

"There's just a black hole in the middle of your chest."

"Kid."

"You're just a heartless, soulless, bastard." Now he was merely teasing.

"I can't believe I'm actually arguing this," Paul muttered to himself.

Jacob took a step closer to him. "If you truly believe you have a heart, then prove it." Paul watched him intently, his eyes showed a sliver of confusion. Maybe he'd finally found Paul's weak spot. "Have you ever once done something kind or thoughtful?" Silence. He shook his head in disappointment. "I didn't think—"

Before he could finish speaking, Paul grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him closer. At first, Jacob thought Paul had finally snapped and was going to beat him up. He closed his eyes in anticipation of the first punch. But instead of a fist colliding with his face, soft lips crashed into his own. Though Jacob was totally caught off guard, he found himself kissing back willfully. Paul's touch was rough and dominating, but Jacob loved it. Het let a whimper escape when Paul slipped his tongue into his mouth. His hands slid around Jacob's waist and he violently pushed them up against the wall. Jacob put his arms around Paul's neck and he fought back with his lips. Both boys were pushing against each other, searching for much-needed friction. The moment was so passionate and violent and hot and—

It was over as quickly as it had come. Paul wrenched himself away from Jacob with enough force to send him stumbling. Jacob was immediately pining for the lost contact. He caught his balance in time to see Paul storming out of the house and slamming the front door in his wake.

What had just happened?

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	2. Chapter 2

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Jacob/Paul Slash

Chapter 2

Paul kissedhim. _Kissed_ him. Kissed _him_. What. The. Fuck. He was supposed to despise Jacob, maybe _punch _Jacob, but not _kiss_ Jacob. What the hell. Was it a dream? But why would Jacob ever dream something so messed up? No. It felt _really_ real. Really. It was most definitely _not_ a dream.

What was even _more_ bewildering, Jacob had…kissed back. And he…kind of…sort of…really liked it. A lot. Wow. Who knew the day would come when Jacob Black liked kissing Paul Lahote? Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Who knew the day would come when Jacob Black liked kissing any guy at all, let alone Paul?

And what did the aftermath of the kiss mean? Paul had stomped off in a rage. Perhaps embarrassment was responsible for his rash actions, but Jacob had seen definite ire in Paul's eyes. So with whom was he angry? The resentment couldn't have been directed at Jacob, he didn't do anything, Paul was the one who initiated the contact. Possibly, he was angry with himself for doing something so stupid. Well, one thing was for sure: Jacob was furious with Paul. How could he do something as revolutionary as making out with Jacob and then just leave with no explanation?

He allowed his anger to simmer over the weekend, keeping to himself most of the time. Quil and Embry, the Rabbit, they would all have to wait. He pretty much disappeared off the map until Monday. When school finally came around, Jacob was refueled, part rage, part anxiety. How was he supposed to act? His best guess was that Paul would pretend that nothing had happened. If Jacob told anyone about the kiss—which he wouldn't—Paul would just deny it and make him look foolish. As far as Jacob was concerned, it was fine to pretend that nothing happened. What he wanted was to forget about it altogether.

And, as predicted, Paul was of exactly the same opinion. Jacob didn't spot him until lunch in the cafeteria. They walked right past each other, and neither made any overt effort to reach out. To the average student, it would appear that Paul and Jacob had the same type of relationship today as they did two weeks ago: a non-speaking one. But the subtle hints otherwise were there. When Paul first saw Jacob, his face tensed up and his eyes kept flicking over to him. Jacob began to fidget when he noticed Paul. He took the awkwardness to mean that they now had a non-verbal pact to pretend that Friday never happened. He shot a withering glare in Paul's direction and fled before he witnessed any reaction.

He slid into the seat next to Quil and said, "Hey, man. What's up?"

"Jake! Where were you all weekend?"

He crammed half a sandwich in his mouth to buy some time for coming up with an answer. "You know, here and there."

Quil looked at him suspiciously. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Well…yesterday I drove up to Port Angeles." _Lie_.

"By yourself?"

"No…I went with my dad." _Lie_.

Quil's expression said that he didn't sound very convincing. "You drove to Port Angeles with your dad?"

Jacob nodded and smiled unsurely as if to excuse his lameness. He wondered, for a moment, why he had decided to lie. Of course he didn't want to admit that Paul had kissed him, but he could have left that part out. He guessed that he just didn't want to talk about Paul at all. Every time he even thought of the kiss, it gave him chills.

Quil bought the story. "Whatever. It's cool if you'd rather spend time with your dad than with me." A sarcastic frown of hurt played across his face. "I'm not _offended_ or anything." He elbowed Jacob playfully.

Just then, Embry arrived at the table. He jumped into the conversation. "What isn't Quil offended about?"

Quil looked up at Embry while gesturing toward Jacob. "Just that _this_ little prick ditched us for his _dad_ yesterday."

"Really, Jake?"

"Yup," Quil answered for him. "Pathetic, much?"

"Hey, loosen up. I had a really crappy week and I needed some time to relax. And time spent with you guys might be fun, but it's not what I would call relaxing."

Quil put an arm over his shoulder. "Au contraire, mi amigo! I attract all the ladies. Spend time with me and you'll have a different bedfellow every night. Endless fucking can cure any crappy week." He stared off into space, no doubt fantasizing his dream bedfellow. "Hey, speaking of ho's, who's up for the bonfire tomorrow night? It's the perfect opportunity for picking up girls."

Every few weeks, the reservation had a community bonfire on the beach and everyone was invited. Jacob usually went to them, but right now he just felt like working on the Rabbit.

"I'm going," Embry said. "Jake? How about you?"

He shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I'm not really in the mood. Last week was kind of a downer."

Quil frowned. "What was so bad about last week, anyway?"

"I don't know about the rest of his week," Embry cut in, "but getting partnered with Paul definitely has something to do with it, I'm guessing."

Great. Exactly the direction he _didn't_ want the discussion to go in. Well, it was too late to go back. Now that he had the chance, he was going to let out all of his frustration and bad mouth Paul to hell.

He looked over to where the junior guys sat and lowered his eyebrows. "You guessed right. In fact, that's the only thing bothering me, but it's a pretty fucking big problem." He turned and faced his friends again. "Paul is the hugest douche bag I've ever met."

"Did he beat you up?" Embry asked.

"No. But he was a jerk in every other way possible. He made me do all the work and he verbally abused me the whole time."

Quil snorted. "Verbally abused you—wow, Jake."

"Yeah, gosh, Jake. What happened to, 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me'?"

"Oh, hey!" Quil shouted excitedly. "We should put the ambush plan into action and then we can force Lahote to help you and he would never abuse you again!"

Jacob killed their joking mood with a somber glower.

"Jeez, just having some fun." Quil put his hands into his lap. "You've got to give this _Paul_ guy kudos," he said to Embry, "I've never seen Jake this angry before. I thought it was impossible to upset him." He turned back to Jacob. "What did he _do_ to you to make you so pissed?"

_If only you knew_. "I told you. He treats me like shit. It's…oral abuse."

Embry grinned and nudged him on the shoulder. "Don't say oral abuse, man. It makes it sound like he made out with you or something."

_If only you knew_.

Jacob consciously avoided Paul for the rest of the day. He stayed out of the junior locker hallway and steered clear of junior classes. But Jacob couldn't evade him forever. Biology came around, the last class of the day, and they had to share the same room for an entire hour. He didn't know if Paul's ego would be able to handle it.

He walked into the science room alongside Embry and quickly deduced that they were doing a lab today. Beakers containing what appeared to be water were lined up on every table. A potato and a scale were placed next to each row of beakers. While they walked in, Mr. Stuart was busy distributing plastic knives to each set up.

"Yes, lab day!" Embry exclaimed. "Let's find the table with the biggest potato!" He chose the station on the far left side of the room. Right next to where Jared and Paul usually sat.

Jacob tried to oppose the seating choice. "No, Embry. Let's sit at our regular place. Who cares how big the potato is?"

"_I_ do." He continued when Jacob didn't budge. "Come on, Jake. Humor me this once. We all know that you're just afraid to sit next to Lahote," Jacob felt his face heat up. Was it that obvious? "But, seriously? He's not going to beat you up in the middle of biology class. Think of it as a rebellion. You're underhandedly insulting him, spitting in his eye!"

People had begun to stream into the room. Jacob bit his lip and gave up the debate. He grumbled while moving to sit next to Embry. Hopefully, Paul would have the sense to sit somewhere else today.

He didn't. By the time class had started, Paul was still a no-show and all of the seats were taken except the one across from Jared. A minute later, Paul stood in the doorway, hands grasping the straps of his backpack, as he appraised the room. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly when he caught sight of Jacob. But he had no choice of where to sit today, so he marched over and took his usual spot.

Mr. Stuart walked them through the lab first, and then sent them to work in pairs. Jacob proceeded to chop up the potato into equal sized cubes while Embry weighed them on the scale. They placed the potato cubes into the beakers of solution and then waited. Jacob was not paying any attention to the lab whatsoever. The whole time he was glancing over at Paul nervously. He couldn't get his mind off the kiss. Paul, on the other hand, seemed immersed. He totally ignored Jacob.

He put his head down and allowed Embry to finish up the lab. That's what he got for forcing them to sit next to Godzilla. A few minutes later, Stuart quieted down the class and summed up the results they should have gotten.

"…So through this process, we are able to determine the molar concentration of the potato. Now, to apply this concept to the human body, we have to look at the cells. Imagine that these potato cubes represent human cells. What does this mean about the liquids that we consume? Mr. Black, care to answer the question?"

Jacob was spacing out again. He had no idea what the teacher was talking about. "Uh…can you please repeat the question?"

Stuart sighed and muttered something about talking to a wall. Jacob suddenly felt embarrassed. Normally, he was one of the top students in this class. He turned to lock eyes with Embry, when Paul spoke out.

"_I_ can answer the question, Mr. Stuart." There was a very cocky air to his deep, seductive voice.

All eyes shifted to Paul. He _never_ spoke in class. Never. Even when the teacher asked him a question directly, he would just claim that he didn't know the answer. Jacob used to think it was because he was dumb, but after working with him on the project, he knew that Paul was smarter than he pretended to be.

Mr. Stuart coughed into his fist and eyed Paul disbelievingly. "Thank you, Mr. Lahote…"

Paul turned and stared right at Jacob. A devilish grin crept onto his face as he started to speak. "As Jacob here failed to mention, if the potato cubes are compared to our cells, then the solutions they were put into can be compared to the liquids we consume. The higher the molar concentration of the liquid, the more hypertonic our cells become. That's why we don't drink saltwater, because it would result in a flow of liquid out of our cells."

The room fell into an eerie hush. No one had ever heard Paul string more than a few monosyllabic words together before. Now all of a sudden, he sounded like some genius. Even the teacher was baffled for a second.

"That is…correct, Mr. Lahote," Stuart managed to say, breaking the fragile silence. He seemed astounded that Paul got the right answer.

Jacob scowled as hard as he could at Paul, who smirked back and tipped his head forward. In other words, _it's on_. What was that jerk trying to prove? His memory flicked back to their first argument last week. Jacob had said that Paul never paid attention in class…He felt a pang of hypocrisy.

Embry stole him from his thoughts. "What was that about?" he whispered.

"Paul has some vendetta against me because I called him stupid last week."

"You called him _what_?"

"It was an accident—"

Stuart cut him off. "Mr. Black, _please_ pay attention." Jacob went red in the face again. To the left, he could see Paul cracking his knuckles with a satisfied half-smile on his face.

Quil and Embry came over to his house later to work on the Rabbit. Jacob just sat in the corner and watched while the other two did everything. He was still sulking about the episode with Paul in biology class. He took it as a declaration of war. And if it was war that Paul wanted, it was war that Paul would get. They had engaged in a real life version of the verbal fencing matches from last week. The stakes were higher now, but Jacob was up to the challenge.

He looked to where Quil and Embry were working. The hood of the vehicle was propped open to expose a mass of metal and wires. Embry was installing a metal coil expertly; like fitting a puzzle piece. Quil wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and faced Jacob.

"Get your ass over here Jake, we're not building this thing for you," he teased.

He laughed lightly through his nose and stood to help them. "Sorry, I was just lost in thought."

"What about?" Quil probed.

"Biology class," he answered matter-of-factly. "It's making me…doubt myself and this whole project thing." Embry started chuckling.

Quil raised an eyebrow at him. "Am I missing something? I don't follow."

"In class today, Paul pulled this really weird stunt…I didn't know the answer to a question so then he raises his hand and starts jabbering on like he's reading the textbook. It was so…unexpected. Even Mr. Stuart was surprised."

Quil wore a confused expression. "You're talking about Paul _Lahote_? Like, the Paul _we_ know? I thought he was too stupid to function."

"We know, right?" Embry responded. "But he sounded like a wiz-kid today. And the weirdest part was that the whole time he was talking, he was looking at Jacob with this sinister smile. It was super creepy. You never told me what that was about, Jake."

They both turned to him expectantly. He sighed. "Last week while we were doing the project, I accidentally told him that he didn't pay attention in class—"

"—What do you mean, 'accidentally'?" Quil nagged him. "How do you 'accidentally' say something like that?"

"I don't know…I was thinking it and I just let it slip out. It doesn't matter. Anyways, I said that I thought he didn't pay attention and then he got all defensive, like I had just insulted his mom. I guess I must've reopened some old wound."

"So you think he did that to prove to you that he's actually smart?" Embry guessed.

"Maybe…Well, not to prove it—but maybe to rub it in my face."

Quil wiped his hands off on his jeans. "Shit, man. That Lahote kid is a first-rate asshole. We should carry out the ambush plan, Jake!"

"What ambush plan?" Embry asked.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "It's a ridiculous idea that Quil had for dealing with Paul."

Quil feigned hurt. "It's not ridiculous. It's genius. We just need to catch him while he's alone so that he can't call for help from those cronies of his. Then the three of us will show him who's boss."

"Even if we _could_ get him alone, I doubt the three of us could take him," Embry remarked. "Have you seen him lately? He's been working out or something…"

"You're crazy, man. Just because he's huge doesn't make him a fighter. In fact, I bet I could take him by myself. I could kick his scrawny ass!" Quil puffed up his chest.

"_Sure_, Quil," sarcasm dripped from Embry's words. "What makes you think you could take _him_ when you can't even take _me_?"

It was an open invitation and Quil took the challenge. "Oh, we'll see about that." He charged head on and soon they were on the ground wrestling.

Jacob lived alone with his handicapped father, Billy, so he was usually responsible for the cooking. He was not in the mood for cooking tonight so he just ordered a pizza once Embry and Quil had left. He and his father sat down in the tiny kitchen to eat. Jacob let his dad do all the talking; he was only half listening, anyway.

Billy told him about the council meeting yesterday. Jacob and his dad were descended from Ephraim Black, the last official chief of the Quileute tribe, which gave them a lot of influence in the reservation. One of the benefits that came with being related to a chief was the inherited status of tribal elder. Billy was, in effect, the leader of the council of elders, and he attended weekly meetings to discuss the state of the reservation. Because La Push was such a tight community, the council stuck its nose into everyone's business. They made it their mission to regulate tribal affairs to what best suited the reservation's image.

According to Billy, yesterday there was a big debate over some territorial dispute between the Quileute and the Makah tribes. When he finished his narrative of the argument, the room fell quiet again and they ate silently.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Billy patted himself on the forehead. "Sam Uley is back in town. You remember Sam, right?"

Jacob nodded, "Leah Clearwater's boyfriend."

"Yes. Well he was gone for a couple of weeks and he just came back the other day. He came to our council meeting yesterday." Billy paused to gauge Jacob's reaction. "He's really grown into quite the young man. I'd like you to speak with him, Jacob. He could be a valuable role model for you right now."

"Sure, sure. Whatever."

"I'm being serious, Jacob. If you ever need anyone to talk to, Sam is always willing to help. He's more like you than you know. You two are close in age and both involved in the tribe. You and your friends can look up to him."

Even in Jacob's removed state, he could tell that Billy was acting strange. He was using a reverential tone to speak of Sam Uley, the same tone he normally used when recounting tribal legends. Since when did his dad have so much respect for Sam Uley?

"You've been awfully quiet, Jacob. Is something wrong?"

"Nope, just had a long day." He took a bite of his pizza.

Billy stared at him. "You've been doing a lot of growing lately," he remarked.

"Yeah," Jacob rested his elbow on the table. "Just like every other teenage boy in La Push."

"Oh, I don't know about that."

Jacob smiled doubtfully at him. "Have you met Jared and…Paul?" He hesitated to mention Paul, but at the last second, he decided for it. "They're juniors at the high school and they're both twice my size. I still have a lot of ground to cover before I can call myself 'tall'."

"Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote?" Billy asked, intrigued.

"Yup. I mean, there are others who are also tall, but those two take the cake."

Billy nodded and his eyes wandered off which meant he was thinking. He went back to eating.

After a moment, he looked back at Jacob. "Are you sure you're feeling all right? Do you feel sick at all?"

Jacob gave his own torso a quick once-over. What was he doing that made his dad think he was sick?

Billy reached across the table and touched his forehead. "Are you feeling hot?"

Jacob jerked away. "Dad! I think I would know if I were sick, ok?"

Billy lowered his arm. "You're right. I'm sorry. Just remember, don't hesitate to tell me when something is wrong, ok?"

Jacob gave him a 'what are you talking about?' look and left to go to his room. He made a note to take his dad to the doctor for a check up sometime soon. He sat on the edge of his bed and rested his chin on his hands. He mentally reviewed the conversation he just had. Now that he thought about it, Paul and Jared really _had_ grown a lot. They towered over all of the other juniors and even most of the seniors. He didn't remember them being _that_ tall.

Jacob pulled a yearbook off the shelf and flipped through it to find a picture of last year's sophomore class. He located the photograph and scanned through the faces to look for Paul and Jared. Hmmm…Just as he had suspected. In comparison to the other sophomores in the picture, both boys were drastically shorter last year. Interesting.

He flipped to the freshman page and searched out his own picture. There he was standing next to Quil and Embry, like always. Jacob had grown a lot too, not nearly as much as Paul and Jared, but enough.

As Jacob hovered over the freshman class page, his eyes buzzed from classmate to classmate, digging up names and information from his brain. Robert Baker: tall and skinny; wore glasses until last year; huge nerd, he was already taking Calculus. Sharon Harvey: she was born an artist; kind of introverted, but in a good way. Alicia Fox: long hair, long eyelashes; pretty, she was curvy in all the right places; the ex-girlfriend of Paul—Whoa, wait a second. Paul's ex? Paul had an ex-girlfriend! Jacob had almost forgotten. Paul and Alicia went out for seven months last year and then they split up over the summer. Rumor had it that Alicia had been the one to dump Paul.

A plot began to formulate in Jacob's mind. The war with Paul had begun and today's biology class was the first battle. The ball was now in Jacob's court. It was his turn to take action. He let the gears in his head start turning that night. Jacob felt it was time that a certain sophomore girl move on from her summer fling and find a new man.

Jacob initiated phase one of the plan the next day. He arrived at school a few minutes early and stood by his locker to await the arrival of Alicia. The hallway started filling up with students and then Alicia walked in five minutes before classes commenced. She strutted over to her friends and started catching up on the rez gossip of the day.

Jacob gathered up his courage and marched straight toward the circle of girls standing across the hallway. He had never done something like this before. It was somewhat silly that the only reason he was doing it now was to tick off Paul, but, nevertheless, he strode forward.

He broke into the circle of girls before he could turn back. They all stopped talking and looked at him. His eyes were fixed on Alicia. He slapped on a sexy half smile and asked in his smoothest voice, "Alicia, will you go to the bonfire with me tonight?"

She clasped her hands together and smiled back at him shyly. "I would love to, Jacob."

"Great." _Yes! Yes! Yes!_ "I'll pick you up at seven." He allowed the smile to span his whole face and then spun around and walked off in the opposite direction. Behind him, he heard giggling and whispering quickly fading into the background noise. Wow, that was easier than he had thought it would be. So all of those years of having to listen to Quil brag about his pick-up skills had actually paid off. Jacob would have to thank him.

He also attributed his success partly to his own personal charisma. When he was younger, his sisters had always told him how cute he was, but he'd never really taken it as a compliment until now. He realized, by the way those girls had looked at him, that he was rather attractive. He'd never given himself credit for the allure he possessed. It was frightening how much power he had over a girl just by turning his charm on. And it was even more frightening that Jacob was manipulating Alicia like this just to get to Paul. She was putty in his hands; he could do what he pleased with her. The prospect was exciting.

He got his chance to thank Quil at the lunch break. Jacob and Embry entered the cafeteria together, and headed over to their table. Jacob peered inside of his paper bag; he had forgotten what he packed for lunch today. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yum, how…creative. Not.

Quil was already eating. He looked up and greeted the other two. "So, Jake, how do I convince you to go to the bonfire tonight?"

"You don't have to," Jacob said with a smug grin. "I'm already going. I even have a date."

Quil's jaw dropped.

Embry patted him on the back. "Nicely done, man."

Quil was still feigning disbelief. "Do my ears deceive me? Does timid Jacob Black—the same man who has never even felt up a girl before—actually claim to have found a date to the bonfire?"

"Yup. And not just any date." He gave himself a mini drum-roll. "Alicia Fox."

Quil shared a look with Embry. He turned to Jacob with raised eyebrows. "Really?"

In answer, Jacob smiled exaggeratedly.

"Wow." Quil wolf whistled. "I am proud of you, man. All of those lessons I taught you on picking up chicks finally kicked in."

Jacob and Embry both laughed. Classic Quil. Even when someone else got the girl, he took all the credit. So much for thanking him.

"And Alicia 'Foxy' Fox is actually a pretty good catch for a first time deep sea fisher. She has a nice body," Quil tacked on.

"So how'd you ask her?" Embry questioned. "Did you put a note in her locker?"

"—Or write it on her car?" Quil guessed.

"Nah, I just walked up to her and asked. I kept it simple. Besides, it's not like I was asking her to prom, or something. It's just a stupid bonfire. I can save the theatrics for a bigger event."

"Ok," Embry nodded. "I can respect that."

"Jeez," Quil shook his head and bit his lip. "I never thought I'd see the day when _you_ left _us_ in the dust, Jake." He punched Jacob on the shoulder affectionately. "I'm so proud of you, man. Where'd you get the inspiration to just ask her?"

"Oh, I don't know…" _The hunger for revenge against Paul freakin' Lahote._ "It just came to me."

"Hey, Jake…" Embry squinted at nothing in particular. He was trying to remember something. "Didn't Alicia date Paul last year?"

Damn, how did Embry already make the connection? "Uh…I don't _think_ so."

Quil looked up in thought. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure Embry's right."

"Who cares which guy she dated last year? I don't."

It was too late. They had already caught on. "Yup, I'm a hundred percent sure that Alicia Fox went out with Paul Lahote last year. In fact, they went steady for quite a while. Didn't they, Quil?"

"Yes they did, Embry. And if I'm not mistaken, _she_ dumped _him_, did she not?"

"—Why, yes she did—"

"So if someone wanted to, say, _get back at Paul_, they could really get under his skin by dating his ex, couldn't they?"

"Shut up! I get the point," Jacob huffed.

Embry stared at him accusingly. "Please don't tell me that the only reason you asked Alicia out was to annoy Paul."

Jacob stared at the ground, resigned. He spoke in a small voice. "Well it wasn't the _only_ reason…"

Quil leaned in. "That's kind of sissy and pathetic—"

"—Not to mention below the belt," Embry added.

"—But," Quil continued, "I'm still impressed that you had the balls to ask her and that she said 'yes'."

"Thanks, Quil," Jacob said sarcastically. "I've always wanted your seal of approval."

"God, what did Lahote do to you that merits a full on Battle of the Bitches?" Embry asked.

"He was a fucking douche bag."

"Ok, well please try to avoid us as collateral in your evil plots. We don't want to get caught in the crossfire." Now they were just joking with him.

"Don't worry," he said it more to convince himself than Quil and Embry. "I've got it under control."

That evening, Jacob showered and threw on a flannel button shirt and jeans. He experimentally sprayed himself with some of his dad's cologne. It was a little fragrant, but he was taking a girl out, so why not? He double checked his appearance in the mirror and ducked out of the bathroom. Jacob reviewed the plan in his head. Originally, he was intending for Paul to find out about him and Alicia by way of gossip. But, earlier, he discovered that Paul planned to attend the bonfire after all. He would get to witness the debauchery in person.

Ten minutes later, Jacob pulled up in front of Alicia's house in the truck. He checked his reflection one last time in the rearview mirror and deemed himself presentable. Gravel crunched under his shoes as he walked to the house. He rapped his fist twice on the front door and then stood upright with his hands clasped behind his back.

Alicia peeked around the door and her face lit up into a smile when she saw him. "Hi, Jacob."

He smiled back at her. "Hi. Are you ready?"

She stepped out from behind the shelter of the door and revealed her whole figure. A slender, dark blouse covered the top half of her body. Tight jeans constricted her thin legs. Her hair was pulled back into a loose braid and each ear sported a dangling silver earring. A little overdressed for a night at the bonfire.

"Yes, I'm ready."

Jacob held out his hand, inviting her to take it. "Then let's go."

They arrived at the bonfire at half past seven, fashionably late enough that the party had already begun. Residents of La Push, of all ages, scattered the beach. Most were crowded around a bright fire, sitting on folding chairs and driftwood logs, but some people strayed farther down to the water. A quick scan of the crowd showed that Paul was not there yet. It was expected, though. Paul showed up late to everything.

Jacob and Alicia walked side by side toward the fire. They were speaking about the Quileute traditions and Jacob told Alicia how his dad took them so seriously. "…He tells us the stories of the tribe every year. In fact, he used to tell them as bedtime stories so I think I have them memorized by now. And he's really strict about the whole 'not harming wolves because they're our tribal animal' thing. I don't know. Sometimes my dad can get carried away with all of the Quileute superstitions."

"Well, does your dad actually believe in the stories or does he just follow the customs?" Alicia asked. "Because there is a big difference. Like, I know that my parents keep the traditions for the sake of the culture, but they don't actually believe in the stories. Especially that stuff about the Cullen family in Forks. That whole thing is strange."

Alicia was referring to a part of the tribal legends that the council had been propagating recently. The council claimed that a family in the city of Forks, the Cullen family, had some ancient treaty with the Quileute people and that they had to stay off Quileute land. It had stirred up a lot of controversy among the less traditional people of La Push.

Jacob laughed uncomfortably. "It's a little embarrassing, but I'm pretty sure that my dad believes in every word of the legends. He's going senile in his old age."

"No, no! I think it's cute that your dad has such strong beliefs." Alicia smiled warmly.

"I think _you're_ cute," Jacob said quietly.

Alicia looked at the ground, but her smile didn't falter. Even through the flickering light of the fire, Jacob could see that she was blushing. _I am good_, he thought.

By now, they had reached the bonfire and they sat on a log to bask in the heat of the flames. Jacob followed an ember up into the sky with his eyes.

"The fire is beautiful," Alicia remarked.

He was tempted to respond with 'just like you,' but he resisted the urge. Best not to lead the poor girl on _too_ much. Instead, he stood up and brushed off his pants. "I'm going to get us some drinks. Don't go anywhere."

Jacob walked over to the cooler filled with sodas, saluting various friends from school along the way. He bent down over the cooler, when someone came up from behind him and grabbed him in a headlock.

"Ah! Get off me!" Jacob wrestled his attacker off, but then another arm trapped him from the opposite side. "Quil, I know that's you. Cut it out!"

"How's the 'date' going, Prince Charming?" Quil let him go.

Jacob stood up straight again and scowled at Quil. Embry was beside him. "It was going fine until _you_ came along."

"Alicia's all alone over there. You should go keep her company," Quil taunted.

"I don't know," Embry said skeptically, "Paul isn't here yet. Jacob has no incentive to try anything with her. Maybe that's why he's hiding over here by the drinks."

"I told you guys already. Paul is not the only reason I asked her here. I actually like her. Now leave me alone." He snatched up two soda cans, pushed through his tormentors and ambled back to Alicia. They sniggered behind him. Jacob smiled to himself. Quil and Embry were just kidding around with him, but they had no idea how right they were. He had realized, after talking to Alicia in the car, that he really didn't like her at all. The only thing she had going for her was her body, and even _that_ didn't turn Jacob on.

When he got back to the driftwood where Alicia was sitting, he saw that some of her friends had come to join her. Two other girls sandwiched her in, all three chatting animatedly. Jacob approached them and cleared his throat to make his presence known. Alicia smiled bashfully at him while the other two blushed and took turns blurting out excuses before they scurried off.

He lowered himself next to Alicia. "Your friends could have stayed. I don't mind sharing."

"That's sweet of you," she leaned back onto her elbows and looked at the sky before turning to face him again. "But I like it better this way."

"Yeah, me too," he admitted. "Now I can do whatever I want with you and there won't be anyone around to protest." He put on his best mischievous grin.

"Oh and what makes you think _I _won't protest?" She couldn't hold back the smile in her voice.

"I just have this feeling…"

Alicia scooted closer to him. He could feel her body heat creeping up against him and he froze. _Wow, ok. I've got to tone down the flirting_. He was about to push away from her, when loud blaring music interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head and found that the source of the noise was a car pulling up next to the beach. A few tall figures rose from the vehicle and Jacob immediately knew. Paul had arrived.

As Paul and his friends walked casually to the fire, Jacob turned back to Alicia and reversed his original plan. He leaned into her and wrapped an arm around her thin frame. She gladly sunk into the embrace. Jacob had everything right where he wanted. He and Alicia were perfectly positioned for Paul's arrival.

"Jacob, I…" Alicia stuttered.

"Shhhhh." He made it sound seductive, but he really just wanted her to shut up so that he could focus on Paul's face.

Paul, Dan and Caleb came into view across the fire. They were laughing deliriously at an unheard joke. It was apparent by their unsteady movements that they had enjoyed some pre-bonfire schnapps. Paul looked around the beach, still giggling from before, and then he met Jacob's gaze. Jacob smiled with evil intent and winked surreptitiously. Paul's eyes flicked back and forth between Jacob and Alicia while the humor disappeared from his features. He stared back at Jacob, stone-faced, then spun around and marched off in the direction of the water.

Jacob beamed at the fire. Victory was sweet. The look on Paul's face had been priceless! Ah, he was content. His plan had worked even better than expected. He moved closer to Alicia and got comfortable next to her; they would be together the entire evening for Mr. Lahote's viewing pleasure.

The rest of the night unfolded smoothly. Jacob and Alicia cuddled by the fire, mingled with their friends and walked along the water. All the while, Paul wore a frown, one even more defined than usual. Later, after the oldest and the youngest had left for their early bedtime, the fire was put out and everyone was shrouded in darkness. But for those who were still at the beach, the party had just begun. There was no school tomorrow. It was a faculty in-service day and the teenagers of La Push used this to their full advantage.

Owen, one of Jacob's classmates, invited everyone over to his place for an after-party. His parents were gone which meant that the alcohol would be flowing. Paul would definitely be there. It was the perfect setting for Jacob to rub Alicia in Paul's face even further.

He and Alicia drove to Owen's house with a few school friends crammed into the car, hitching a ride. When they got there, the music was already blasting and red cups full of intoxicating liquids were already being distributed. Swaying bodies crowded the den. The air in the house was warm and stuffy and carried the stench of alcohol and sweat. Jacob scanned the den and quickly found his mark. Paul was off to the side of the room, grinding furiously with some random chick. He had one arm wrapped around her hip, tugging her closer. His other hand held a plastic red cup to his mouth.

With Alicia in tow, Jacob made a beeline toward the corner where Paul towered over his prey. They stopped right in front of Paul and then lost themselves in the rhythm of the music, the bass pounding their every step into the ground. Paul's reaction was caustic. His emotions were unrestricted thanks to the alcohol, so the moment he saw Jacob with his arms around Alicia, he roared and stomped off.

Jacob was pleased that Paul was so angry. This couldn't have worked out any better. He allowed himself to move closer to Alicia and to let the music take over. He poured himself a cup of beer when it was offered to him and downed the stuff in one gulp. Jacob threw back his head and laughed maniacally. He was having the time of his life.

It took a few minutes for the effects of the drink to sink in, but when they did, the results were astounding. All of Jacob's defenses were lowered, his reservations reduced to nothing. He felt invincible and commanding. He turned his charm on all the way and took reign of his power over Alicia. His hands roamed all over her body and his lips brushed against her cheek. Time slipped by without notice. The tide of the crowd slowly pushed them into a dark hallway that led off the main room to what was presumably a bedroom.

Jacob viewed Paul out of the corner of his blurred vision and in a split second made the decision to seal the deal. He brought his lips down onto Alicia's and sloppily kissed her. Jacob hoped Paul was watching. He really wanted to anger Paul and he wanted all of Paul's anger to be directed at him. He wanted all of Paul's _emotion_ to be directed at him. He wanted—

A strong hand clamped down on his shoulder and pushed him away from Alicia. Jacob fought against the hand, but he was no match for it. He stumbled off Alicia and before he could fall, someone lifted him by his shirt and dragged him into the dark and deserted bedroom.

The door shut behind him and he was thrown against the wall. It took a moment for Jacob's eyes to adjust to the meager light. He focused and made out a face in front of him. It was Paul. A rush of emotion coursed through him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Paul whispered to him angrily.

Jacob laughed. Paul shook him, but when the motion stopped, he left his hands on Jacob's shoulders. "Why are you making out with Alicia, huh, Kid?" Paul was enraged.

"No way. You're not allowed to call me 'Kid' anymore. I proved you wrong. I got drunk and I made out with a chick and I was going to fuck her too if you hadn't—"

"—Little prick. I can call you whatever name I want." Paul moved closer. His body pinned Jacob against the wall. "Now why the fuck are you kissing Alicia? Trying to make me jealous? It's not working."

Jacob struggled for a few pathetic seconds to escape from Paul's hold, but he failed. Instead, he knocked his head against Paul's. Now their foreheads were touching and their eyes were inches apart. Jacob could smell the alcohol rolling off Paul's tongue. He could feel the sweat sticking to his skin. His heart began to beat faster.

"I think it _is_ working."

Paul growled under his breath. "You need to be punished, you little fuck."

He nudged his head forward and covered Jacob's mouth with his own. Their lips sucked at each other frantically. Paul's tongue poked at his mouth until it found a way through. He invaded Jacob's lips and he probed all of the wet cavities and crevices around Jacob's tongue. Their hips started rocking back and forth. Jacob was completely aroused and he could feel Paul's straining dick through the layers of jeans. They pounded into one another, Jacob sliding over Paul. Back and forth, back and forth, lips kissing, teeth nipping, fingers kneading.

Paul took total control. He kept Jacob's hands locked to the wall and he directed their movements. Jacob was in heaven. He just wanted to melt into Paul's body and obey his every command. The fantasy lasted all the way to release. Jacob came in his pants and not long after, he felt Paul shudder and jerk, signaling that he was finished too.

They broke apart slightly, but Jacob held onto Paul for support. They stood panting and avoiding eye contact for almost a full minute. Then Jacob slowly released the other boy's arm. What had he just done? Realization hit him and his stomach lurched. Regret and guilt washed over him. Jacob was into girls. This wasn't happening. Fury built up inside him and he wanted to direct it at someone other than himself. _This is _Paul's _fault_, Jacob decided in a split second. He backed away from Paul and delivered a well-aimed punch to his jaw. Paul staggered and groaned and then he swiftly yanked the door open and exited the room.

Whoa.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews. More are always appreciated.**

Jacob/Paul Slash

Chapter 3

_Creeeeeeeeaaaaaaaak_

The sound of a door opening and closing wrenched Jacob from his deep sleep. He blinked and took in his unfamiliar surroundings. Morning sunlight streamed in through a glass sliding door and blinded him temporarily. He shielded his eyes and vision returned to him. Other sleeping kids from school dotted the floor and couches around him, including Quil who was snoring like a chainsaw. Jacob's face had been pressed up against the side of the couch and the skin there felt warm and tender. A searing headache seemed to be splitting his skull in half. For a second he was confused and then the memories of last night overflowed his brain. He jerked into a sitting position and stroked his hand through his hair. _Paul_.

The blood drained from his face and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Flashes of kissing and groping replayed before his eyes. As if to make sure that he was remembering correctly, Jacob's hand slid down to feel underneath his jeans. Sure enough, the dried evidence of his deed encrusted the crotch of his boxers.

He put his head back against the couch and fixed his gaze on the ceiling. This couldn't be happening. Jacob hated Paul. The very thought of him stirred to life a burning passion in the pit of his stomach. And most importantly, Paul was a guy. Jacob didn't think about guys in this way. His entire adolescence had been one huge Sex-Ed class, taught by Quil, dedicated to convincing him that fucking a girl was the rite of passage to become a man!

He tried to justify the situation. It must have been the alcohol and the rampant hormones. He had so much sexual tension built up inside of him that he couldn't control his actions. Everything just happened to burst…right when he was with Paul. Besides, this was all Paul's fault to begin with. Paul was the one who kissed _him_, not the other way around. But he hesitated because, just like the first time Paul had kissed him, he couldn't deny that he had enjoyed it. A lot. Much more than he had enjoyed kissing Alicia.

And while he was on the subject of Alicia…where was she, anyway? He craned his neck and looked around the room. She was nowhere to be found. Jacob tried to recall what had happened last night after Paul had abandoned him.

He remembered leaving the bedroom, upset and grumpy. He had gone straight to the alcohol, not even thinking about Alicia. He could recollect the first few sips—no, gulps—of beer, but after that, the memory went hazy. It was obvious from his hammering headache that he had gone a little overboard with the drinking last night. He had probably partied all night without even noticing his date's absence. To be honest, he never really cared for Alicia in the first place. It really was just a pathetic ploy to get back at Paul.

Jacob rose from the carpet and tiptoed out of the room. The house was a mess: cups and food littered the floor, stray clothing lay sprawled on the furniture. Bags of chips and pretzels covered the kitchen table; most of their contents had been spilled onto the ground. La Push kids sure knew how to party hard.

The pain in his forehead began to pulsate, rhythmically beating like waves in the ocean. He brought his hand to his head and cringed. Jacob had heard descriptions of painful hangovers from his friends, but he had never experienced one firsthand before.

Whispering sounded from around the corner. Jacob slumped through the kitchen and under the doorway. Embry was speaking to Owen in the front room. The conversation halted once they saw Jacob. Embry smiled mischievously at the sight of him, Owen just looked exhausted.

"Dude, you went crazy last night. How are you awake already?" Embry came over and supported him with an arm over his shoulder.

"I don't know, but I'm paying for it." He indicated the headache with a hand on his forehead. "Hangovers suck."

Jacob turned and looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was only nine thirty in the morning. No wonder everyone else was still asleep.

"Hey," Owen directed his gaze at Jacob. He wore a slightly curious expression. "What happened between you and Lahote last night?"

Jacob froze. A quiver of fear ran through him, head to toe. How did Owen know about that? Ugh. Jacob _knew_ that someone had seen them. This was too embarrassing to handle. He had to keep it a secret. But how was he going to lie himself out of this one? Jacob frantically leafed through his mind for an explanation while his face remained blank on the outside.

Owen looked amused. He faced Embry. "Look at him. He can't even remember what happened."

What!? Embry knew about it too? Oh no, word must have already spread. Jacob bit his lip. He was too late to deny that anything had happened. He would have to blame it on Paul or on his intoxicated state. For the moment, he played along with Owen's speculations.

"I can't remember anything from last night. What are you guys talking about? What happened with Paul?"

"I can't believe you don't remember," Owen laughed. "Ok, so last night I was walking by my bedroom, when Paul came running out with his hands covering his jaw. He was really angry, so I asked him what happened. He just looked at me and said something about fighting with you. Then he left the party. We all thought he'd beat you up real bad, but then you came out of the bedroom and you looked fine. We couldn't get a word out of you for the rest of the night, though. You were too shit-faced."

Relief and understanding flooded through him as Owen spoke. So nobody had seen anything. They all thought that Paul had kicked the shit out of him, not swapped spit with him.

Jacob scratched his head theatrically. "Oh…I think that had something to do with the fact that I made out with Alicia."

Embry thrust a finger at Owen. "I _told_ you it had something to do with Alicia."

"Wait, you actually made out with her? Like not just a peck, an actual kiss with tongue and everything?" Owen looked at him disbelievingly.

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged.

"Hmmm…well that would do it." Owen walked past him and Embry into the kitchen. "Paul was a ticking time bomb and you set him off. I'm just glad that you guys didn't break anything. I don't know how I'd explain that to my parents."

Embry was more interested in the details of the scuffle. "If he really fought you, then how did you end up unscathed, Jake?"

Jacob realized that he had punched Paul right before he'd gone. He was sure that it had left a mark. He could easily make up a story where Paul tried to beat him up, but the tables turned and Jacob ended up on top. But, why dig himself into yet another pit of lies? He decided to stick to the original fib.

"I don't know. I can't remember anything. Remember?"

Embry was pleased. "So, for all we know, you could have kicked Paul's ass!"

"Pretty much," he said.

"Oh, just wait until Quil hears about this…" Embry's voice trailed off as he ran into the other room, presumably to wake Quil.

Jacob turned to Owen. "I think I'm going to get out of here. Do you need help cleaning up or anything?"

"No, man, it's all good." He jerked his thumb at the other room, "I'll get all of _those_ lazy asses to clean up. See you around."

Jacob headed for the door and left. He wanted to escape as quickly as possible before Quil and Embry could grill him anymore. It was only a matter of time until he tripped over one of his own lies and revealed the truth. He jumped into the car and drove away, leaving his dignity and his honesty behind.

Guilt nagged at Jacob while he walked to school alongside Quil the next morning. He'd never kept any big secrets from his friends before. Now all of a sudden he was outright lying to their faces.

"...I can just imagine it. Both he and you were drunk out of your minds. Probably half the punches you threw at each other missed completely. No wonder you walked away without a scratch." Quil reenacted the fight, exchanging blows with an imaginary opponent while he walked.

Jacob scratched his head and laughed stiffly. "Yeah… it must have been quite the brawl. Too bad I can't remember it."

"You know dude," Quil put an arm over Jacob's shoulder. "I was convinced that your little plot with Alicia wasn't going to work, but _boy_ was I wrong. You had Paul reeling. I wonder how he's going to act toward you today. Think he's going to want revenge?"

Jacob really thought about it for a moment. How would Paul behave today? Would he even remember what happened? If he did remember, then, judging from past experiences, he would be ice cold as always.

For the first time this morning, Jacob spoke truthfully. "I doubt he'll want revenge, but he definitely won't be happy to see me."

They arrived at school with a few minutes left to kill. Jacob parted with Quil to stop by his locker before going to class. As he walked down the crowded hallway, a figure melted from the masses and scurried in his direction. It was Alicia and her face was scrunched up with guilt and shame.

"Jacob! I'm so sorry," she made to touch his arm, but halfway through the motion she changed her mind.

"It's ok—" Jacob began, but Alicia cut him off talking at a million miles an hour. "I feel terrible about what happened with Paul. It's all my fault. I should have known that he wouldn't be able to handle seeing me with another guy. And then he told me that if I didn't leave he would make you pay, so I just…panicked and I ran. I'm so sorry, Jacob. Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, see?" Jacob stepped back and gestured to himself. "Paul was pissed off, but he didn't beat me up or anything."

She still looked skeptical. "Are you sure you're ok? I've heard stories going around that he and you got into a big fight after I left."

"We didn't fight, Alicia. But even if we did," he added on jokingly, "I'm insulted by your faith in me. You don't think I could handle a fight against Paul?"

She blushed ever so slightly. "No…I didn't mean it that way…I was just concerned."

Jacob meaningfully smiled at her, trying to convey that everything was fine.

"Well if you're positive that you're ok," she went on hesitantly, "And if you can forgive me for my crazy history of boyfriends," she looked to him for confirmation. He nodded. "Then I would like to make it up to you. Maybe we could go out some time. Friday?"

Truthfully, Jacob had no intention to go on a date with Alicia. She was nice and all, but he just wasn't interested in anything more than friendship with her. He'd used her to get back at Paul, but now that that was finished, he saw no more value in the conquest. His brain told him to reject her, but when it came right down to it, emotions got in the way. Jacob simply couldn't say "No" to such an innocent face.

"Sure…" he said with a strained smile. "We'll hang out after school."

"Thank you, Jacob. I'll see you then."

Alicia beamed and squeezed him into a quick hug. Then she skipped off to class. Jacob stood there shaking his head and sighing. Why had he done that? Now Alicia thought he was actually interested in her. It would be even more difficult to turn her down next time. He tried looking at the bright side. At least now he could flaunt her in front of Paul some more.

The thought of Paul sent a slight jolt down his spine and he automatically looked around for the boy. He still didn't know what to expect today. Would Paul even show up to school? No, that was a stupid question. How could Jacob think that _he_ could matter enough to Paul Lahote to prevent him from coming to school? No, if anything, Paul would come to school just to piss him off.

Jacob glanced around one more time to be sure that Paul was absent. Then he ran to class before the bell rang.

Jacob had made it almost the entire day without seeing Paul. But that would soon be remedied, because he had one last class before the day ended: biology. He arrived to the classroom early so he took his seat and stared blankly out the window. The sky was gray, as it always was in La Push. A slight drizzle blanketed the air. Despite the seemingly impenetrable layer of cloud cover, a ray of sunlight had broken through.

"Hey, Jake." Embry sat down opposite him and turned to peer out the window too. "What are you looking at?" he wondered.

Jacob took a deep breath. "Nothing," he answered quietly. He looked back at Embry and shared a moment of uncomfortable silence. He said the first thing that came to his mind just to break the quiet.

"So I scored another date with Alicia today." He grinned as he spoke.

Embry laughed, "No way! When did you ask her?"

"Funny story," Jacob scratched his head. "_She_ asked _me_…"

Embry's eyebrows slanted. "Alicia asked you on a date?" Jacob nodded with a pained smile. "Well…It's a little unorthodox, but I'll take it. It looks like your plan to tick off Lahote is sprouting wings," he joked.

Jacob reached down and took out his binder while he responded. "That's exactly what Quil said."

"Oh, come on, Jake. You didn't even try to get into her pants. What are we supposed to think? That you're being a gentleman or something?"

Jacob scowled at him. "Maybe I am."

"Jake," Embry shook his head. "We live in the twenty first century. The age of chivalry is long gone." He paused, waiting for Jacob to respond, but he didn't. "I'm just kidding, you know. In all seriousness, I respect your choices."

"Thanks, Embry."

Jacob's gaze drifted over to the door of the classroom just in time to catch Paul making his grand entrance. The junior marched in with his head held high like he was too cool for the room. He paused to survey the class and appeared to be only slightly fazed when he noted Jacob's presence. Then he deliberately sat as far away from Jacob as possible.

"There's Paul," Embry remarked. "What are you going to do about the project? He definitely won't work with you after what you pulled on Tuesday."

"That's a good question," Jacob responded sincerely.

"I guess you could switch partners, right? I mean, Mr. Stuart said that he chose partners this time so we wouldn't work with our friends, but that doesn't mean you couldn't work with Kim or Eric or something. You should ask him."

Jacob thought about it. "I don't know. It's probably too late to switch partners anyway. I guess I could ask Stuart if I could work on the project _alone_, though…"

"But then you'd have to do twice the work," Embry pointed out.

"Well, it's not like Paul did much when we _were_ working together. I figure it's about the same amount of work, really. And this way, Paul can't take credit for _my_ project and get a good grade."

"Hmmm…" Embry nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Mrs. Collins, a math teacher, walked in at that moment and called the class to order. "Is this Mr. Stuart's biology class?" She asked.

Everyone mumbled a communal "yes."

"Mr. Stuart is out sick and I will be substituting for your class today. I was told that you are all supposed to go to the computer lab and work on your projects with your partners."

"Oh, great," Jacob whispered to Embry as they collected their things.

Everyone rose from their seats and filed one by one out of the classroom following Mrs. Collins to the computer lab. Jacob stole a quick glance in Paul's direction. Paul must have had the same idea because he sent a menacing glare back at Jacob. There was no way they were going to work together today.

The class arrived at the computer lab and Jacob made sure to sit at the opposite end of the room from Paul. He sat alone in the corner and resolved to get some research done. He could use some extra time now that he had to finish the project by himself.

"Where is your partner?" A stern voice inquired from behind him.

He swiveled around and looked Mrs. Collins in the eye. She already knew the answer to the question. She had asked it solely for the amusement of watching him squirm. Jacob hated when teachers did that.

"I don't have a partner," he lied.

"It says on this list that you are working with Mr. Lahote. Please go and sit next to him."

Jacob looked over at Paul hesitantly. Then he turned back to Collins. "No thanks."

"This is not up for debate, Mr. Black."

He resorted to begging. "Please?"

"I'll give you a detention."

Jacob gave in. It wasn't worth a detention. Under the watchful eye of Mrs. Collins, he picked up his bag and sulked over to where Paul sat. Finally, the teacher left him alone.

Arms crossed in front, he stared straight ahead and made no effort to acknowledge Paul's existence. Instead, he busied himself with counting the number of tiles that spanned the ceiling. The minutes passed and Jacob's concentration began to slip. His ears picked up the incessant clicking of keyboards and the hushed dialogues of other groups at work. The inaction was making him restless.

A strained whisper broke through the monotonous pattern. "Jacob."

He ignored Paul.

"Jacob." Louder this time. Still no response.

"Oh, come on, Black. I know you can hear me." Paul sighed out of annoyance. "Forget what happened on Tuesday. Let's just be civil for a little while and finish the project."

"Why should I? You're the biggest ass to me."

"Well you kind of deserve it," he muttered. "You've been provoking me ever since last week. And then at the party—"

"What!?" Jacob looked at him angrily. "You started the fight that night."

"No _you _started it the minute you took Alicia as a date."

"Well _you_ were asking for it after that crap you pulled in class." Jacob scowled with all the resentment he could muster. "You know what? I take it back." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You started this whole clash when you came onto me last week." _Ha! Find a comeback for _that_, Paul._

Paul smirked. "Well there's no denying that you liked it."

Jacob went red in the face. It was true. He _had_ liked it. But he could never let Paul know as much.

"I _didn't_ like it." He wasn't convincing anybody.

How did this happen? His comment about last week was supposed to make _Paul_ the vulnerable one. Somehow the tables had turned. Jacob frantically searched his mind for something to say to put himself on top.

"I asked Alicia out again. We're going on a date this Friday."

Paul's arrogant façade flickered for a moment. "No you didn't."

Target acquired. "Yes. I did."

"You're bluffing."

Jacob threw his hands up in mock defeat. "Fine. Don't believe me." He was surprised by his own confidence.

Paul's mouth shrunk and his eyelids lowered just slightly. He had nothing to say. Jacob was triumphant.

Paul drew in a deep breath and faced his computer. "Let's just work on the project."

"Ok," Jacob conceded with a smile. He didn't feel like working on the project by himself anymore. Not if he had the chance to demoralize Paul even further and to bask in the glow of his victory. "That's fine by me."

Jacob was walking back to the computer lab from the bathroom, when he overheard two students speaking in lowered voices by the lockers around the corner. He stopped walking to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"…that guy who was dating Leah Clearwater—"

"You mean Sam?"

"Yeah."

Jacob recognized the first voice; it belonged to Collin, Jacob's little cousin. Collin was talking to a girl, most likely one of his middle school friends.

Collin said, "Seth told me that he overheard his dad talking on the phone about Sam. They found him unconscious in the woods."

"Oh my gosh! What happened to him?"

There was a pause and then Collin's voice sounded lower. He must have leant in further. "Seth heard his dad talking about a huge wolf. You know what that means, right?" There was a moment of silence. "Sam got mauled by a wolf." The girl gasped. "But you can't tell anyone. Seth said that the council is trying to keep it a secret. I guess they just don't want people freaking out about man-eating wolves."

_Man-eating wolves? How gullible is this kid?_ Jacob couldn't hold back a snort. Unfortunately, it gave away his presence. He turned the corner and sent a suspicious glance in Collin's direction before returning to the computer lab. It amazed him how stupid kids could be at that age.

When he returned to the lab, he caught Paul quickly hiding a page on the computer and reopening the project document.

"What was that page you just minimized?" he asked.

Paul didn't even look up. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

Jacob let it pass. It was probably just porn or something. He reclined back into his chair, picked up the open book on his desk and opened his mouth to recommence dictating. Paul began to laugh quietly. Jacob snapped his head up to see what was so funny. The chuckling came to an abrupt halt.

"What?" Jacob scowled.

"Nothing."

"What's so funny?!"

Paul's countenance belied mocking now, rather than the bitterness it held before. His playful smile curved up as he answered. "I was just…appreciating…the face you were making."

Jacob narrowed his eyes questioningly.

"The face you make when you read," Paul explained. "It's funny. Your eyebrows scrunch up and you concentrate with this intensity."

Jacob sighed. "This is a really pathetic attempt to make fun of me."

"That's because I'm not _trying_ to make fun of you." Paul leaned back nonchalantly and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Sure, sure."

Paul lazily rolled his eyes in Jacob's direction. Their gazes met and the moment gradually solidified into a profound staring contest. Paul was grinning coolly, but sincerely, like he was acknowledging an inside joke he had with himself. Jacob couldn't hold back a slight smile of his own, though he denied all feeling on his part. If anything, he was laughing at Paul's casual attitude toward life.

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing_

The bell shattered their connection. Jacob quickly looked away. He felt a blush coming on so he started talking to distract himself. "We should meet one more time to finish this."

Paul stood upright and said, "how about Friday?"

"Um…ok—wait, never mind." He smirked, "I have that date with Alicia on Friday."

"Right," Paul responded in a devious tone, with a patronizing look to match. He turned and began to walk away as he said, "Have fun on your 'date.'" He punctuated the word 'date' with air quotes. Then he spoke something inaudible to himself.

"What's up with _him_?" Embry asked from behind.

Jacob chuckled. "Oh, nothing."

"Ok." Embry shrugged on his backpack and helped Jacob up from his chair. "So are you coming cliff-diving with me and Quil right now?"

"Why not?"

They dropped their bags several yards from the cliff and then stripped down to their jeans. Without the protection of clothing, Jacob could feel the wind whipping at him bitterly. He shivered and crossed his arms as he shuffled to the edge of the cliff ahead of Quil and Embry. He quickly forced himself to adjust to the temperature, knowing that the cold would be far worse once he plunged into the deep. He looked out over the black swirling water and, in a moment of fear, almost turned around. But the view was breathtaking; he could see for miles out until the ocean and the sky met with a clash of gray, white clouds and dark waters.

His friends joined him silently, the warmth of their presence almost tangible. Jacob's toes crept out over the edge. Now that he had come as close as he could, he knew that he would have to jump quickly before fear sunk in and paralyzed him. He crouched slightly, let out a roar of all of his pent up anger and frustration, and then he sprang forward into the sky. For a second, he felt weightless and graceful, but soon enough he began his descent and his stomach started flipping. He sealed his eyes shut while he was half way down. Then he hit the water and the freezing temperature sent chills up his spine. He was sinking far below the surface, still in after-shock. Instinct kicked in and his arms and legs started thrashing to bring him back to land. Once he pulled himself ashore, he lay down and just relaxed. Quil jumped and resurfaced next. He crawled onto the sand and flopped down next to Jacob, laughing. They both chortled at the sky while they waited for Embry.

Two jumps later, the three of them trekked back up to the cliff top to collect their things. They had descended from the cliff and begun the journey home, when out of the corner of his eye Jacob noticed another figure in the cliffs. He looked up trying to see who it was. The person was standing at the edge of another cliff not far from where Jacob and his friends had jumped, but this cliff was twice as tall as theirs. No one he knew had ever jumped from that high up before. He squinted at the unfamiliar man and then recognition hit him. It was Sam Uley. Except Sam wasn't so big last time Jacob had seen him, or was he?

"Look," he said, barely loud enough for them to notice. Quil turned around. Embry kept on walking; evidently, he hadn't heard.

Quil exclaimed, "Holy crap!" This got Embry's attention. "He's not going to jump, is he?"

"I think he is…"

"Wait a sec." Embry strained his eyes, "Is that—Sam Uley?"

"No, Sam isn't that big."

"Quil, that _is_ Sam," confirmed Jacob.

Embry said, "What happened to him? Wasn't he gone for—"

All of a sudden, Sam ran to the edge and, with a gracefulness that seemed impossible for a man of his size, he leapt from the cliff into a perfect dive. Jacob was impressed. He would never jump from that height, especially not head first.

Wasn't his dad saying something about Sam the other day?

He made his thoughts known to the group. "My dad was talking to me about Sam over the dinner table a few days ago. I'm trying to remember what he said…Something about Sam going to the council meeting after he disappeared." His tone of voice made it sound as though he were telling a scary story. He jerked his gaze away from the abandoned cliff top and looked back at his friends. "Wasn't Sam supposed to go to college?"

"Yeah, he and Leah had it all planned out. They were going to go to the same college and everything. I wonder what happened." Embry rubbed the back of his head, puzzled.

The three of them stood facing the ocean, wordlessly pondering this. Silence kicked in, so Jacob suggested they head back home. While they tread down the pearly sands of First Beach, the only sound was the water, incessantly gripping the shore and then slipping back again.

"I still don't think that was Sam," Quil said.

"Believe it," Jacob sighed.

"Then I'm going to have to have a chat with him. There's something fishy with that guy. And I, for one, would like to know how he built so much muscle up over the span of two weeks."

And although Jacob and Embry heard the sarcasm in his voice, neither of them responded. Because Quil was right. Something fishy _was_ going on. And stories like this never ended well.

**Not sure when chapter 4 will be ready, but I'll try to get it up w/in 2 weeks**


End file.
